The Push
by FLG
Summary: Maybe someone comes along to give Luke the motivation he needs to stop making Lorelai wait. Set before she breaks off the engagement.


"No, Mom…I don't think that if you advertised that you manufactured the best set of eyewear in the world that you could lure Bono to the small confines of the Hollow."

"Oh, com'on Rory," Lorelai whines. "You don't think Bono would actually turn down the opportunity to acquire the world's best set of glasses, do you? He's much smarter than that, he--"

"Okay, okay…," Rory interrupts, recognizing the tone of her mother's voice that indicates a gush/rant session is about to start, "Before this gets too heated… and as much as I would love to sit and debate your plan to meet Bono, I actually have classes that I need to get to, so if there isn't anything else important…"

Lorelai gasps, "Are you implying that this isn't important?!"

"Mom…"

Giving in to her daughter's pleading, "Fine, anyway I have to get to Luke's, I running dangerously close to being more than a half hour late." She finishes the last touches on her hair and make-up.

"Alright, I'll see you at dinner tonight?"

"Sure, bye hun."

"Bye, Mom." Rory grins as she grabs her things and heads out the door. Oh, how she loved the morning chat with her mom.

Lorelai walks into the diner ten minutes later and smiles at Luke, who catches her eye as she enters. Seating herself at the counter, she glances to the woman next to her, "Hey, Gypsy."

"Hey, Lorelai. Could you please tell Luke that I'm right?" She had her annoyed voice on, which wasn't particularly rare for her.

"Sure, what's with Kirk?" Lorelai turns half around, staring at the crazy guy with his hands held out in a gesturing manner, and a look of mock contemplation planted on his face.

"He thinks Shakespeare is his new calling. Too bad he doesn't understand, or remember most of it."

"…and this above all; to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, that thou canst not be false to any man…"

"It sounds pretty good to me…," Lorelai shrugs.

Gypsy grins devilishly in anticipation, "Wait for it…"

"…and if thou's false, then his hand wilth be slapthed, and his soul wouldth die in squirmish agony, and great pain shall fallth onto his family and dog…"

Lorelai giggles, "That sounds great, Kirk."

Gypsy nudges Lorelai, and says giddily, "Ask him what play it's from."

"So, Kirk, I'm not really all that up on my Shakespeare. What play is that, again?"

Kirk pauses, and replies proudly, "Omelet."

Gypsy snorts as she tries to drink her orange juice. Lorelai holds a bemused expression, "Do you mean Hamlet?"

"No. Why would I mean Hamlet? Who even knows what a Hamlet is? Is it a omelet with Ham? Hamlet would be a stupid name for an epic theater play. It is definitely called--" He pulls out a book from his bag, "Oh… you're right. It's Hamlet…huh…I still think it's dumb." Kirk returns back to reciting Omelet.

Luke approaches with a coffee cup, and Lorelai, still laughing at Kirk, turns to him, "Gypsy says she's right."

"No, she's not. And, you don't even know what we're talking about."

"Nope, but a friend asked me for a favor, so I did it." She grins at Gypsy, "Plus, she's a woman, and we're always right."

"Yeah, take that, Mr. "I'm a big man, so do as I say, and I say the Dodgers are better than the Yankees, so it must be the truth"."

"Wow, is that hyphenated?" Luke retorts with a glare.

"No. Hyphens are too good for you."

"Gee, thanks, Gypsy."

"No problem, Luke."

Just then, Luke notices Kirk at his table. And the expression on his face as he realizes, for the umpteenth time, that Kirk is insane, makes Lorelai smirk.

"What's he babbling about?" "No clue, trust me, it's safer that way… thanks." She takes a sip of the coffee he hands her.

"This whole town is totally nuts."

"Totally. So, you free this afternoon? Cause, I thought we could go somewhere and get some lunch, and maybe spend the afternoon together, it's been a while since we've done that…" She lets her voice trail off, knowing it's about to betray the casual feeling she was going for.

Luke clears his throat and looks down. She knows he's about to say no. "Uh, actually, I had plans with April today…" He looks up again, judging her reaction, then continues quickly, "She has a project for school that she wants me to help her build, then we were going to the park or out for ice cream, or something…"

Lorelai feels that sinking in her stomach that she's been getting ever since April and the wedding postponement happened. Not that it really had anything to do with April personally, she really like April, the birthday party was amazing, but a set-back…another sore point. So, as she's been practicing lately, she puts on a smile and answers, "Oh, okay, just a thought… maybe some other time."

Seeing she's disappointed, Luke suggests, "We can do something after, though."

"Sure." She sees how hopeful he is and doesn't want to push, but it still hurts every time he schedules her and April around each other, but Anna had said no. "I have to get to the inn, I guess you'll call me when you're ready?"

"Sure." He kisses her and she walks out of the diner. He knows she's disappointed, but figures he'll make it up to her tonight.

-----------------------------------------------------

3 days later…

Lorelai walks the familiar route to the diner observing the town. Taylor is yelling at and gesturing excitedly to the troubadour, who looks back at him with an expression of indifference and slight annoyance. Patty directed her dance class of tiny ballerinas, while entertaining them with stories of her Broadway days. Everything was the same as always, or so she thought. It wasn't until she reaches the gazebo, that she notices anything different.

"Rachel?"

The flurry of red hair whips around to face her. "Lorelai!" Rachel steps closer and throws her arms around Lorelai in a warm, brief embrace.

Lorelai, slightly taken aback, awkwardly hugs her back. "Wow, what are you doing here?"

Rachel grins a brilliant smile, that somehow makes Lorelai want to punch her, "Well, I was on my way home from Brazil and I thought I'd stop by."

"Well, sure, whenever I come home from Brazil I get the urge to visit old places I used to hang out," Lorelai responds, feeling something in the pit of her stomach that was a little unfamiliar to her.

"So, how have you been? Anything new?" Rachel radiates enthusiasm and vivacity as she guides her to a nearby bench, and both sit down.

"Well, uh, Rory's in college now--"

"Oh, yeah, where's she going?"

"Yale, actually, she's in her third year." Lorelai couldn't help the pride basically dripping from her words.

"Wow! That's amazing, I could barely get through a year at a JC. Of course, they may have something to do with my Geographical ADD," Rachel quips and looks genuinely happy for her.

"So, Brazil? What were you doing there?" Lorelai asks.

"I was finishing up an article on a few of the endangered species in the area. Then, I began a new one on a Brazilian tribe that I found fascinating. It was pretty great. But, I got a little bored of the place, so I decided to take a break and head to Chicago for a while. That's when I noticed a flight to Hartford, and figured, what the hell?"

"That's amazing, my work never brings me anywhere but the kitchen and front desk."

"I assume you're still at the Independence." She winces and adds, "I didn't mean that to sound as condescending as it did, I just meant, you seem to love the place and I can't imagine why you would leave it. Unless, of course, you got to open your own place like you wanted."

"Actually, the Independence caught fire a couple years ago, and we had to close it. But, it turned out alright. I restored and opened the Dragonfly with Sookie."

"No kidding? You really did it, that's great." Rachel smiles, "I'd love to see it."

"Oh, sure, you can come by and I'll give you a tour." Lorelai hopes that it sounds more casual then she feels. She is feeling more tense and guarded around Rachel then she was comfortable with.

"That would be great…," Rachel trails off as she watches Lorelai brush the hair off her face. "It seems you've left the best part out--" She motions to the band around Lorelai's third finger of her left hand, "--are you married?"

Lorelai blushes and averts her eyes, just now realizing her position. "Uh, no, engaged." She bites the inside of her bottom lip and looks up, dreading the question she knew was coming.

"Oh, cool…anyone I know?" Rachel asks as if she knew the answer and was dreading it as much as Lorelai was.

Lorelai sucks in a breath, involuntarily glancing at the diner, hesitates, and stutters, "Uh, yeah…," and doesn't quite get the rest out.

Rachel didn't need anymore than that, she too looks at the diner and refuses to meet Lorelai's eyes, "Oh." Rachel pauses, and adds, "You know, I think that's great." Her voice sounds little sad.

Lorelai did what she does best in an uncomfortable moment, she began to talk at the speed of light, "I'm sorry, I mean, I'm not sorry we're engaged, but I'm sorry if it hurts you, and I want you to know that nothing was going on with us while you were here, and I actually thought of you as a friend, of sorts, and I know there's strict rules about dating a friend's ex, so I'm sorry about that. And I wish I could have told you in a better way than you just seeing the ring, and I'm sorry if you came back for Luke, and I'm sorry if I start to hate you if that's why you came back. Actually, I can't help but like you, you're just one of those kind of people that everyone likes no matter what, so I can see what Luke likes about you, and--"

Rachel cuts her off, holding up a hand, "Whoa! Before you pass out from lack of oxygen…which, by the way, your rant ability is phenomenal… I didn't come back for Luke, exactly. It was just a spur of the moment thing, and I did miss him. And I appreciate the apologies, but they're not necessary. I know there was nothing actually going on between the two of you, and we were friends, are friends, so, for what it's worth I have no objections to the two of you being together."

Lorelai lets out the breath she was holding, "Really?"

Rachel pats her arm, "Really." After a slight pause, she asks, "Did Luke ever tell you why I left last time?"

She furrows her brow both in confusion and in contemplation, "Uh…he said something about you having your reasons," Lorelai recalls vaguely.

Rachel nods, and doesn't talk for long enough to make Lorelai think that maybe she wasn't going to answer, then she says, "I left because of you." Looking at Lorelai's face turning into defense mode, she adds quickly, "I didn't mean that to sound accusatory, I meant that…Luke was so in love with you, that his heart just wasn't in our relationship. Not that he didn't try, or want to have his heart in it, it's just not what he really wanted, even if he didn't realize it completely." Lorelai just stares, not quite believing what she was hearing. "And when I confronted him about it, he couldn't deny it, so I left, and told him to tell you how he felt." Rachel gazes at Lorelai, judging her reaction, "And apparently he took my advice."

Lorelai snorts, "Yeah, but not for another three years…," She looks a little shocked, as if she hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Wow, three years, huh? Well, nobody ever accused him of rushing into things." "He never told me that, but I guess by the time he could've he'd probably forgotten. I'm sorry for getting in the way, especially without knowing it."

"Oh, don't worry about it. Obviously, me and Luke weren't meant to be, so no use crying about it."

Lorelai notices the time, "Oh, shoot. I was supposed to be at the inn already. I have to go or Michal will throw a tantrum, and the guests will start complaining about the high-pitched French man yelling at the top of his lungs, and well that's just a bad day for everyone."

"Okay, sorry, I was so excited to see you, I didn't even think about you having to be somewhere. I haven't quite gotten the responsibility thing down yet." She stands up and smoothes her clothes.

"So, after you go by the diner and say hi to Luke, and you know, catch up and stuff, then if you still want, you can stop by the inn and I'll give you a tour," Lorelai offers, feeling that feeling again at the suggestion she go see Luke. "Sounds good, I'll see you then," She replies as she bounces toward the diner.

"Okay, see ya then." Lorelai watches her enter the diner and watches Luke look stunned, then greet her with a hug. Finally, it dawns on her…she was jealous. She feels a little stupid it took her that long to realize that, but she wasn't used to being jealous. She hadn't had an real opportunity to feel jealous since her and Luke got together. She was a little unsure of how to respond to it. It's not like she was really worried about Luke leaving her, it was just more of a primal territorial thing, and knowing that someone else had been almost as close to Luke as she was now. Plus, something about being in such close proximity to someone Luke loved, was slightly painful. After a moment, a second realization hit her, the fact that she was jealous of Rachel the first time she was here. She wasn't with Luke then, and didn't think she was interested in him then, but she was jealous…she was jealous that there was another woman in his life that took away from the attention he had only given to Lorelai. She was jealous of Rachel, Sookie was right.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the bell over the door rings, Luke looks up expecting to see Lorelai. However, seeing the person that actually comes in, leaves him speechless. It's been a long time since the brown eyed beauty had been in his diner. She greets him with a simple 'hey', and when he finally picks himself up, he walks over and hugs her. "Rachel, what are you doing here?"

"Why does everyone ask me that?" She retorts, but she knows the answer, so she moves on, "Same ol', same ol'…just a whim." She smiles at him, missing the look of disbelief he always greets her with.

"Right, a whim," He repeats.

"So how you been?" She asks as she takes a seat next to a guy trying to tie a cherry stem into a knot with his tongue, proclaiming his girlfriend thinks it's sexy.

"I'm fine, you know, I grill burgers, make coffee, that's my life."

"Yeah, I hear you're also engaged. Engaged to a certain talkative, blue-eyed, coffee addict." She says with a hint of accusation she didn't mean to include.

Luke turned a deep shade of red, matching the flannel of his shirt, "Uh…um…yeah. I guess you were right," He stutters, hating himself for having nothing better to say.

"I also heard it took you three years to tell her."

He looks at her, bewildered, "Where are you hearing all this from?"

"Lorelai."

"You talked to Lorelai? When?" He asks, a little worried.

"Just now, outside."

"Oh."

She takes on a serious tone, "I'm happy for you Luke. Really. I know how much you care about her. I mean, you are happy, right?"

He looks up, debating how to answer, finally, he decides on the truth, "Yeah, I'm really happy, and completely in love with her. God help me."

She smiles, "That's what I thought. Jeez, I'm good! I called that one…" "So, anything else I should know about?" Rachel asks, kind of wanting to change the subject.

"I have a kid."

"WHAT?!"

He takes a deep breath and begins the story of April, while Rachel perches on the stool, listening intently.

------------------------------------------------------------------

At the inn, Lorelai spent the day being distracted, thinking about Rachel, about Luke, about Rachel and Luke, about her and Luke, about her and Rachel, and about how Sookie managed to catch her apron on fire, smash her finger, burn her wrist and still release a scandalous squeal when Lorelai filled her in on the happenings of the day. Around one in the afternoon, she finishes calming Sookie down and goes into the reception area, where Rachel stands roaming her eyes around the room.

"Oh, hey," Lorelai greets.

"Hey, the place looks amazing, way better than I ever thought possible of the remains it was the last time I saw it."

"Well, then lets start the tour so you can marvel at how we kept the stairs from falling down, and the kitchen from blowing up," Lorelai gestures toward the dining room. She guides Rachel through the inn, telling stories about the restoring process, the catastrophes they encountered, and ideas for the future. Then she leads her outside to see the stables. Both absent-mindedly stroke the horses, until Lorelai asks, "So, did you and Luke get to catch up and talk?" She sounds a little more apprehensive than curious or interested.

"Oh, yeah, it was nice to talk to him again." Then, upon seeing Lorelai's face, "You know you have nothing to worry about with us, right?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so untrusting, but… as stupid as it sounds, you're it. You're THE ex, you know? As much as I hate myself for it, I can't help but worry, a little."

"It's okay, I get it. So, Luke has a daughter?"

"Yeah, weird, right?"

"Completely, I mean, besides the fact that he has never shown any interest in kids, his or otherwise, it's weird he has a kid with someone he's not married to. I can see him as a dad, despite his attitude, but I always thought it would be well after he was settled down. I hear she's a good kid, though. He seems really proud." Rachel doesn't notice Lorelai tense up.

"Yeah, he seems to be…But, I don't really spend time with her." She didn't mean for the last part to come out, so she looks away.

Rachel studies her, "Are you okay? You seem a little, I don't know, sad. He hasn't let you spend any time with her? I thought it was a little weird that he shrugged off my question of how the two of you get along."

Lorelai seems to forget who she's talking to, and where she is, and just begins to let it out. "I've met her once, just like week ago, he never introduced us before that, and he wanted to postpone the wedding because he was overwhelmed with her coming into his life, and I didn't really want to postpone the wedding. Now, I'm feeling like we'll never get married, and that hurts, and it hurts that I'm starting to blame April a little for it, although I know it's not her fault. And I just want to be with him, and for him to see that April and I can both be a part of his life, but her mom doesn't want me to be a part of her life until Luke and I are married, but he won't marry me until he's comfortable with April and me--" She cuts off as sobs begin to take over.

Rachel immediately puts her arm around Lorelai's shoulders, "Trust me, he will marry you, I promise. He loves you." She sounds a little resentful at this, then covers it up, "He's happier then I've ever seen him. You just need to tell him how you feel, and I'm sure everything will turn out the way it should." This time, it sounds genuine and cheerful.

Lorelai smiles weakly and wipes her eyes, then mummers, "Thanks, maybe I will. It's just that Luke doesn't do well being pushed, so I don't want to force him to do anything he doesn't want to do." She frowns in thought for a moment, then turns and leads the way back into the inn.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The bell above the door rings, and again he expects Lorelai (he hasn't seen her all day), and again it's Rachel. He takes one look at her determined face and knows she has something to tell him.

"We have to talk," Is all she says as she sits down and waits for him to ready himself. When he seems to be in listening mode, she begins, "What are you waiting for?"

"What do you mean?" Luke asks, uncertain of where this was going.

"Why are you waiting to marry Lorelai?" She says it direct and clear, she was never one to beat around the bush. "You love her, you've loved her for a long time. She loves you, and it's killing her to wait. And what's the deal with keeping her and April separate?" She says all this fast and in a very in-his-face kind of way.

"I don't…I mean…did you talk to Lorelai? Are you talking about me, because like I told her, there will be no Luke-talk between the two of you!" His confusion quickly dissolving into annoyance.

"That's not the point. The point is, it's really hurting her, and she doesn't think the wedding's going to happen, and you're going to lose her if you don't do something," She finishes in a huff, momentarily wondering why she was fighting so hard in a fight that wasn't hers.

"She knows I love her."

"Yes, but she thinks she's losing you, and just plain wants more, and you should give it to her. April will fit fine into your life with Lorelai, and there shouldn't be any reason you can't be a husband and a father. And, if you're worried about what kind of dad you are, or something along those lines, I have no doubt in my mind that you're a great dad. You should give yourself and Lorelai a chance, it just might work."

Luke looks down at his hands wondering if he could have really missed how Lorelai was feeling all this time. He always knew that, with the exception of Rory, he knew Lorelai better than anyone. How could he have missed this? And Rachel was right, he loved Lorelai, and he could be her husband and April's father. April was a great kid, and her and Lorelai would get along great, and both would be willing to help with the situation to fix problems that might come up. He silently curses himself for being so stupid, and for taking so long that his ex had to clue him into what was going on.

Rachel watches him, and she can see he's getting it. So, she stands up, grabs her bags, walks around the counter, and plants a kiss on his cheek. "So don't wait too long, okay." As she leaving she smiles at the phrase, the same one she used last time she saw him, also in reference to Lorelai. "It was nice to see you again, and tell Lorelai bye for me. Oh, and give her this," She hands him a piece of folded paper. She smiles and walks out the door. Luke stares after her, forming a plan. It may take him longer than it should, but he could figure things out, and make things right.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke hadn't seen Lorelai in a couple days, and she wasn't answering her cell. He was beginning to worry big time now, especially since he had had plans for them last night, and she never came home. He was finishing up the dinner rush, arguing with customers, when she burst in. He just stars at her as she flips out, wanting him to elope with her that minute, telling him she loves him, but can't wait. Now or never? It was his turn to flip out. He begins to yell back saying he has April, and he can't just jump. As he watches her walk away, crying, he finally catches up on the conversation. He can't believe he just told her he wouldn't marry her, he meant he wouldn't marry her right this second, but she didn't really know why.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Her heart felt like it was slowly and painfully shredding itself into a thousand pieces. She was having a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that he said no. As she passed the market, she heard him call her name. She couldn't imagine what he could say that would make this better, but she turns around anyway.

"Lorelai! Please stop!" Luke runs down the street toward her, and stops in front of her, breathing heavily. "I'm sorry, I think a little slow, and am stubborn, so I didn't explain myself very well. No, I don't want to elope with you right now, but under no circumstances is it because I don't want to marry you." He finally begins to catch his breath.

"Luke, I--"

"No, it's my turn to talk. Yeah, I've been an idiot with everything, postponing the wedding, not letting you and April get to know each other, and not noticing that you were hurting. I'm the most sorry about that, I don't know when or why I stopped being the person that knew the real you."

"Me either," She interrupts, but quiets, intrigued with what he's finally saying to her.

"That stops now. I guess I eventually clued in, and I had plans for last night, which you never came home for, and wouldn't answer your phone, so I couldn't tell you about." He pauses to look at her, then continues, "I had your living room full of candles, and I had a Lilly for you. I was going to formally apologize and propose. And, yes, I realize we're already engaged, but I didn't propose like I should have the first time, plus with how badly I screwed things up, I figured it wouldn't hurt to do it again. I was going to tell you that I love you more than anything, and definitely more than I've been showing you. And, I was going to tell you that I got Michel and Sookie to reserve the Dragonfly for this weekend, Sookie agreed to cater. I called Rory, April, your parents, Liz and TJ, and Patty to clue in the town, and everyone said they could be there on Saturday to watch us get married. I was going to make sure that you know that I get it if that's not what you want, and I'm more than willing to hear what you want and figure out how to make it happen. I was going to add that I'm having dinner with April on Wednesday, and I want you to be there. I know Anna had issues with you and April being together, but April's my daughter too, and she needs to know the woman I plan on spending my life with. Plus, I talked to April, and she wants to hang out with you, she likes you, and sees how happy I am with you, and wants me to be happy. So, I'm going to work hard to make up for all the lost time." He gently pushes a strand of hair off of her face, "I know that that wouldn't fix everything, but I felt it was a good start. But, you never came home, so I couldn't tell you all that. And tonight you showed up like this and it just threw me off a little. Again, I'm sorry." He finally takes a breath, he had been with Lorelai a long time, and his speech shows it.

Lorelai stares. For one of like five times in her life, she's speechless. Drawing in a shaky breath, and brushing a stray tear from her cheek, she finds her voice, "No, it wouldn't fix all the hurt that I've felt the past couple months, but you're right, it's a hell of a start." A smile slowly creeps across her face, "You really were going to do all of that?"

Luke nods, and reaches up to cup her face, "Yeah… So… Lorelai Gilmore, will you marry me on Saturday?"

"Yeah, I think I could do that. It sounds perfect." She leans into him, and kisses him softly.

"Good. But, if you'd rather do it another way, that's fine, it's whatever you want."

"Can you get Bono to play for us?"

"Well, it's short notice, but I'll see what I can do."

"And, you won't let Kirk give a speech or recite Omelet?"

"What's Omelet?"

"It's scrambled eggs wrapped around some kind of filling, like cheese or ham or--"

"I know what an omelet is, but what is Omelet, that Kirk can recite?"

"Kind of like Spamalot… Kirk's version."

"Nevermind, I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'm perfectly happy with Kirk not speaking at all."

"But, that will force him to do Mime, and that's not attractive for anyone, especially Kirk."

"Fine, Kirk will be allowed to speak, but not with a microphone, and not to more than two people at time."

"Okay, then it's exactly what I want." After kissing him again, she asks, "And, out of curiosity, if you hadn't planned this, would you have eloped with me tonight?"

"No." Lorelai draws back, "No, because I want you to have everything you deserve, and you deserve a real wedding. I would never want you to look back on our wedding day and regret anything, because I know I won't. And, you would regret not having Rory there, or Sookie, or even your parents. And you'd regret not having a party that's all about you, and has tons great food." He looks at her grinning.

"Yeah, I would. So, since when did you start being such a romantic?" Lorelai teases, as she wraps her arms tighter around him.

"It's probably all those stupid chick flicks you make me watch."

"Fair enough. Can I ask why the sudden change of heart? I mean, why now after this time?" Lorelai asks, but seemed a little unsure of what she wanted to hear.

"Honestly, it was Rachel. She seemed to have no fear of telling me what you couldn't. She just woke me up, none of this was her plan or anything, that was all me. I'm sorry." Luke winces, dreading her reaction.

Lorelai just smiles, "No, don't be. She's not so bad, and I don't really care what got you going, as long as it doesn't happen anymore. I want to be with you Luke. That means being with all of you, and totally in your life, but you have to let me."

"I promise." He kisses her. "And, she wanted me to give you this." Luke pulls out a paper from his pocket and hands it to her.

Lorelai opens it and reads:

Don't be afraid to push, he's a big guy, he can handle it, and we both know he's worth it. Give me a call if you need a ear… or a hit man, I'm well familiarized with the jungles, they would never find me or the body.

Rachel 332-600-7345 (my cell)

"Remind me to thank her later," She smiles wider than she has in a long time, and reaches for Luke.


End file.
